Chapter Eight: ❝ but I'm not hurt ❞

"Could you whisper any louder? He might hear you... and quit fidgeting, it makes you look suspicious..."

"Well I'm sorry for being nervous about being in a place I'm not supposed to be. And I'm missing AP Chemistry because of you!"

Rashaad rolled his dark brown eyes and sighed. "And Chemistry will still be there when you get back. I'm just surprised it was this easy to sneak in. Guess we didn't have to go through the windows after all."

"Oh whatever, let's just make this quick. And you say something to him first..." Hakeem muttered with a slight frown. He nodded his head toward the direction of Manny, who sat on his left, then glanced back at Rashaad, who sat in front of Manny.

The subject in question already had his head face down on the wooden desk, with his forearms forming a barrier around his messy dark curls. Manny's only goal for the day was to catch up on some much-needed shut-eye and avoid talking to anyone. His hot-tempered mood had cooled down, but that just left him with a sour attitude and the occasional tear sliding down the bulb of his nose.

Rashaad rapidly shook his head back and forth to Hakeem and mouthed, "you're closer," in fear of disturbing the sleeping beauty.

"You started this," Hakeem mouthed back, just as the ear-splitting bell rang for the first period of the day. Everyone else in the room scrambled to their seats like roaches when the lights turned on, while Mr. Driscoll trudged to the front of the room dreading to give the same "speech."

Rashaad's gaze darted between an impatient Hakeem and a slumped Manny before he swiftly shook his head again and turned face forward in his chair. His backpack became his new teddy bear as he hugged it close to his chest, while Hakeem groaned and slouched in his seat.

How the boys got into ISS was more or less the easiest part of the whole ploy. Since the administrator in charge, Mr. Driscoll, wasn't the most observant or caring man, they managed to get away with showing him fake pink slips that had nothing but scribbles and doodles of bunnies all over them.

He marked them down on his beat-up attendance clipboard (they pointed him to names that weren't their own and not marked on his sheet yet), and took another five minutes to find seats. Hakeem thought it would be more strategic to sit as far back as possible so in case something went wrong, they were closer to the exit. Which thank goodness they did, because about thirty seconds later, Manny marched in and eventually found a desk next to the duo.

They didn't have much time to prepare a good script or least flashcards of what they were going to say to Manny, so as Mr. Driscoll adjusted the podium, Hakeem continued to rap his fingers against the hardwood like he was tickling piano keys. He was just as tense as Rashaad was but tried his best to keep a strong poker face. When it came down to it, he knew the talking was going to be all up to him, but the mounting pressure would leave him tongue-tied.

It wasn't every day where one would have to try to convince one of the school's most popular, and scariest, people that they accidentally stole his wallet, lied to one his friends about knowing him personally, and also help them win over the girls they really like since he's also best friends with them. And on top of all that, not get caught being in a place they definitely weren't supposed to be.

"All right, everybody, please settle down. I know how excited y'all are to be here," Mr. Driscoll said to a sea of unamused faces. He set his clipboard down on the wooden surface of the podium and cleared his gruff voice before he continued. "Now I know that you know what this place is and why each of y'all has to be here. But since we have a couple of new faces, I'll be going over the rules for the day again and etcetera."

A couple of people glanced around the room and peered over their shoulders at the mention of "new faces" to seek out either new targets or new friends. Most of those wandering eyes hit Rashaad and Hakeem, who both looked visibly shaken and squirmed like fish out of water. Mainly because they were the only students in the room with backpacks, and every troublemaker that went into ISS never brought backpacks unless they were, as you know, new.

Mr. Driscoll cleared his gruff voice again to garner everyone's attention and quickly spouted out the rules. "During In-School Suspension, I—well, the school— expects everyone to abide by all school rules until the day's over. Which is ironic since clearly none of you have. But, nevertheless, there are five big rules to follow while you're here: number one, you can't leave until I say so or the building is on fire. And since none of those things will happen, you can expect to spend the rest of the day in your seats."

There was a harmony of groans and moans as a response from most everyone in the room, which made Rashaad jump in his chair and Hakeem flinch. While Manny of course still had his head down since he knew the rules better than the pledge of allegiance. And he also didn't care.

"Number two is that everyone is limited to three restroom breaks throughout the day. And it's obviously one at a time," Mr. Driscoll said, his elbows placed on the podium while he held out two fingers for emphasis. "I don't care if he, she, it, them, or whoever is ya best friend, ya baby daddy, ya ride home, or ya sibling. You go do your business and come straight back. And don't even think about not coming back. Last person who did that got to come on the weekend for some time too..."

Hakeem couldn't help but gulp at the last part of the administrator's sentence. Great, now how are we supposed to get out?  he thought, and bit the bottom part of his lip that was in desperate need of more chapstick.

Meanwhile, Rashaad smiled to himself when he realized the pun Mr. Driscoll made with "number two" and the restroom rule.

"Third, you'll use your inside voices, though you shouldn't be talking to anyone in the first place. So before anyone comes up here to ask, no. You can't push your desks together in groups, you can't be Facetiming or calling anyone outside of ISS, and you can't be running around the room like you're on the playground," Mr. Driscoll explained, holding back from rolling his eyes. "Fourthly, this is a great time to reflect on your actions and consequences of said actions. This means besides being on your phone or sleeping" — he stole a glance towards Manny — "I advise doing the homework that you can't turn in today, writing a poem, busy yourselves with some studying or, hell, even reading. Just as long you don't bother me and it's not hurting anyone, be my guest."

A tall brunette that sat in front of Rashaad raised her hand and made him squeak ever so slightly, thinking she was going to strike him. But Mr. Driscoll just sighed and pointed to her as she asked, "What if we didn't bring our backpacks?"

"Then... use your imagination. As long as it's not hurting anyone," Mr. Driscoll answered back with the best grin his tired face could pull together. "And the last rule is to follow rules one, two, three and four. Failure to do so will just lead to you coming back here for more days or worse. And trust me, worse is not better than coming back here. So if there are any more questions, ask your neighbor before you ask me."

As soon as Mr. Driscoll pushed the podium to the side and shuffled around to the wide desk centered in the front of the room, everyone returned to their old conversations. Hardly anyone followed the five great rules since Mr. Driscoll wasn't one to really enforce them. It was just part of his salary to recite them and one of the few things he was required to do besides making sure no one escaped or tried to kill somebody.

Once he flipped open the ancient black laptop— a device given to all faculty by the school — and plugged in his earbuds, everyone knew that was the cue to move around and socialize with their groups once more.

Rashaad gradually turned back around to face Hakeem, his backpack still hugged close to his chest, before he glanced in Manny's direction. He managed to tune out most of the noise and chatter that circulated around the crowded room, which was why he never overheard Hakeem and Rashaad whispering about him again.

"Can you please tap him for me? Please?" Rashaad started, his foot bouncing up and down on the dusty tiles of the floor, which left some scuff marks. "I don't want to wake him up..."

"No, you're literally a pinky away from him," Hakeem said as his face molded into a frown. "This was your idea, so you should be the one to wake him up."

"But... I'm scared now," Rashaad said and hugged his backpack even tighter. "There's a difference between planning something and acting it out in your head and then actually doing it in real life. Plus he smells kind of like blood... and maybe waffles..."

"Does it look like I care? Just tap his elbow so we can get this over with," Hakeem said, his jaw tightened and eyebrows raised. "The longer we're in here, the more at risk we are..."

Rashaad huffed and loosened his grip on his backpack straps. He sucked in his breath as he looked back at Hakeem like it was his last before lifting one arm, sticking out his pinky, and ever-so-gently poking Manny's elbow.

The tap didn't register though as Manny didn't so much as stir, so Hakeem gestured for Rashaad to poke him harder.

Rashaad took another deep breath and poked Manny with the tip of his pinky again, this time a little harder so he actually felt it. He did that twice in a row until he saw Manny's arms move and hug his head more as he adjusted his position in the cerulean blue chair. Rashaad winced and recoiled his hand, but Hakeem shook his head and continued to motion for him to keep tapping Manny.

Though he was nearing his second stage of sleep, Manny couldn't help but pick up the sensation of someone lightly poking his elbow. He didn't really notice Hakeem or Rashaad when he sat down in the seat, but he subconsciously knew someone around him was trying to get his attention. He pressed his eyelids down even tighter as the gentle jabbing of his elbow became relentless, but he continued to disregard it.

After what felt like a good two minutes had gone by of Hakeem repeatedly forcing Rashaad to poke Manny and Manny not able to concentrate on napping because of Rashaad's incessant poking, Manny eventually gave in.

With an exasperated sigh, Manny lifted his head from the security of his arms and pushed himself back in his seat. An action that caught Hakeem and Rashaad off guard and made them timidly squeal and jump. Manny pushed his hair out of his face with one hand and squinted his eyes through his crooked shades, and looked back and forth between the boys with a deep frown.

Hakeem scooted his desk an inch away from Manny while Rashaad covered his face with his hands in defense, his whole body quivering. Manny straightened his sunglasses and cleared his throat before he addressed both boys.

"Can I help you two with something?" Manny asked, his voice raspy and laced with agitation.

Rashaad peeked through his fingers and Hakeem released the breath he held, both of them astonished the almost-sleeping-giant didn't greet them— more specifically Rashaad— with a punch in the face. The boys glimpsed at each other, waiting to see which one would speak, but since Rashaad was already scared out of his wits, Hakeem spoke up first.

"Uh... hi," Hakeem started and wrung his hands. For some reason, he found his throat withered and those were the only two words he could assemble at that moment.

Manny scoffed and blinked abruptly in confusion. "Uh... hi? Can I help you two with something? 'Cause if not, then why the hell are you trying to wake me up?"

Rashaad lowered his hands from his face and pushed out an edgy chuckle. Usually, he was better at beginning a spontaneous and improvised conversation, something he learned from his drama class, but he was just as frozen as Hakeem. One of them had to say something soon or else they'd anger Manny even more, so Rashaad dug deep into the recesses of his brain and blurted out the first thing he could think of.

"Sorry!"

Hakeem's eyes widened as Manny gave Rashaad a strange look and quickly managed to bring his attention back to him before his best friend said something idiotic again.

"Um, he means that as in he's sorry for waking you. Well, more like we," Hakeem said to Manny, and even gave him a friendly smile. "But you're obviously still confused, so let me start over. My name is Hakeem and that thing is Rashaad..."

Manny blinked twice as fast and frowned even more. "Okay, cool. Nice to meet you guys, I guess. Now can I help you two with something?!"

Rashaad took a deep breath and swallowed the dry air in his throat before working up the courage to say, "Well, ha, um, n-now that's a great question. Perfect actually. 'Cause you see me and my friend here definitely need your help, Mr. Manny-Sir..."

"It's just Manny, thanks. And if you don't mind getting to that soon 'cause I was really trying to sleep here," Manny answered.

"Well, uh, of course, Mr- I mean Manny. But uh... how should I say this?" Hakeem asked Rashaad, who just shrugged at first, but then proceeded to vomit everything that was on the forefront of his mind. And not with literal vomit of course, but just divulged everything that happened to them in the last twenty-four hours or so.

"Well, I had this idea for me and Hakeem to ask out O'Dallas and Annisa in the courtyard yesterday for Homecoming and it was supposed to be this really clever thing until Rory ruined everything because he thought I said 'sigils' instead of 'signal' and we had to run downstairs to catch up with them but we didn't and then we saw your wallet come out of your butt and we didn't want it to get stolen so we stole it and brought it with us to the café but then Chase saw us with your wallet and thought we stole which we did but didn't so I got too nervous and lied and said we knew you and that you invited us to your fight or whatever and now they expect us there and if we don't show up they'd kick our asses for lying and stealing so me and Hakeem had to sneak into ISS because we didn't know any other way to approach you with this information without it sounding really awkward and bad and we just need your help in getting O'Dallas and Annisa to go out with us because we really really like them and we are so so so sorry!"

Manny's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline while Hakeem suffered a case of whiplash at everything Rashaad confessed in one breath. There seemed to be a brief moment of stillness that fell among the three boys while the rest of the room proceeded with their non-stop laughter and boisterous gossip around them.

Hakeem was eventually the first one to move as he cleared his throat and turned his body to face Manny, who was more awake than ever. He took his navy blue, JanSport backpack off the ground and set it face up on the wooden table, then said, "Um, it's Hakeem and I... and yes, that is why we woke you up..."

Manny turned his head to face Hakeem, still with the same flabbergasted expression and watched as Hakeem opened the front zipper of his backpack and took out the leather, tawny-colored wallet.

"So... yeah... uh, here you go," Hakeem said, and with trembling hands slowly placed Manny's wallet on his desk.

Rashaad held his breath— much to the chagrin of his rapidly beating pulse—  as he watched Manny's gaze go back and forth between his wallet and their uncomfortable faces.

In any other situation, Manny's first reaction would've been to sucker punch both of them in their faces, but since they were already in In-School Suspension, that wouldn't have been the wisest idea. Instead, all he could do was pick up his wallet, turn it over in his calloused hands a few times, check to make sure everything was still in there, and just sighed with relief. All of his anger for the day was already released at home, he was too drained and bruised to even think about fighting, and anymore crying would've made his headache worse.

So he just laughed.

That's right, Manny Lockwood, one of the most notorious, frightening mischief-makers in the school, let out the heartiest, most benevolent laugh in the classroom. Crinkled corners of his eyes. A dimple that dotted his right cheek. Bright pearly whites. It was the first time he genuinely smiled in days, and to say it felt good and almost unnerving would be an understatement.

Rashaad and Hakeem were clearly stunned by this response as well, so all they could think of was just to laugh along with him.

Most of the room had quieted down and Mr. Driscoll even raised his eyes from his computer screen as Hakeem, Rashaad, and Manny all cackled their hearts out until tears sprung from the corner of their eyes. Nearly a minute had gone by until Manny caught his breath and slowed down, which made Rashaad and Hakeem follow his lead.

"Wow, I just... I just don't know what to say, guys," Manny said, wiping away a jovial tear that slipped underneath his sunglasses. "This has to be the best thing that has happened to me this week."

"Wait, uh-really?" Rashaad asked, lifting his dark eyebrows in shock after catching his breath. "Well I mean, it was obviously the right thing to do because what we are is definitely not thieves."

"Yes, definitely," Hakeem chimed in, forcing another nervous smile. "And all that stuff Rashaad jabbered on about earlier, it was just talk really..."

"Um, well I wouldn't say just talk, 'cause it did kinda happen," Rashaad said through his teeth, giving Hakeem a wary sideways glare.

"Yes, but we wouldn't want to overbear or annoy him or anything," Hakeem said back with the same look.

Manny shook his head as he placed his wallet into his back pocket. "No, no, that's totally cool. I get it. You'd be surprised at how many other people came up to me asking about Annisa and O'Dallas—"

"And that doesn't mean we're trying to use you or anything!"

"Yeah, we swear! We would never—"

"Guys, guys, it's okay! I'm not going to hurt you, trust me," Manny said with his hands up and a tiny grin on his face. "I was just going to say... thank you, honestly. This week has been really rough and... it means a lot that you went through this much trouble to bring my wallet back to me."

Hakeem and Rashaad both glimpsed back at each other stunned. They then immediately smiled and lightly chuckled at Manny. For someone they thought ran a mafia ring or led a pack of wolves every full moon, he came off as a pretty forgiving and laid back person at that moment.

"And as a token of my own appreciation, you're both invited to come to the clubhouse tomorrow night. That's if you're still up to it," Manny continued.

"Pfft, uh-um, what?!" Rashaad stuttered, his racing heartbeat relaxing. "I-uh, yes. Yes, of course, w-we would love to come, oh-yes!"

Hakeem nodded his head a bit too vigorously. "Well if you're not going to kill us, w-we would love to come. But, um, with the whole Chase thi—"

"Don't worry about that. Since you've already come this far, we might as well just play along," Manny said. "Plus I think it'd be hilarious to mess with him."

"Great! Wow, I-I don't know what to say," Rashaad exclaimed. "But-uh, thank you, really..."

"It's okay, it's not a big deal," Manny said, and gently patted Rashaad on the shoulder. An action which made him shudder. "And with the whole O'Dallas and Annisa thing—"

"We were pushing it with that one," Hakeem interrupted, "and we don't want to ask too much of you and it was already a weird request anyways..."

"Yes, completely get it. So many people ask anyway and we didn't even know if that would work out. It was stupid and weird and we're sorry," Rashaad said, rubbing his clammy palms together.

Manny bit the inside of his cheek and sat back for a moment as an idea began swirling around in his head. He had expected for this to just be another boring day that was supposed to be followed by another boring day. And he rarely took kindly to strangers, especially strangers who took his stuff without permission. But these strangers had caught him at a moment where distractions were highly needed. He was already on the road to having his car confiscated by his father and a grounding that could last until graduation.

It wasn't like he had anything special to do that day until Hakeem and Rashaad seemingly made it special. He was in the Mariana Trench of trouble, so how much deeper would it possibly get for him?

Plus, having two other people who were head-over-heels for Annisa and O'Dallas would be a perfect way to bend them to his will. And not like servants or slaves obviously, but as his own personal backers. People who were gullible enough to do anything he said in exchange for something greater. Which in this case were dates with his two other best friends. In the future, he'd need someone like them to help deal with the more pressing issues of Emma's brothers, and people who wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Listen, since I am in a much better mood now and you've both just been so kind to me, it gave me an idea of how I can help you," Manny said, making the boys lean in closer.

"Uh, well how can you help us?" Rashaad asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Manny cleared his throat, mainly for dramatic effect, and continued. "Well, let's make a deal. I will help you get dates with Annisa and O'Dallas. They're extremely picky about who they go out with and the 'type' they will go out with, so it's not going to be a couple of Post-it notes here and there on what to do. There's a lot that's going to have to go in this if you want it to work. And in exchange, all I ask for is fifty bucks each and a favor from both of you individually whenever and wherever I ask for it."

Rashaad and Hakeem looked back at each other with wide eyes and slightly agape mouths. For a plan that was put together in less than twelve hours with no real "backup"  in case things went sideways, everything fell together seamlessly for them. So when they both looked back at Manny with huge grins, they, of course, nodded their heads.

"Hell yes! Are you kidding?! This is perfect," Hakeem exclaimed. "Are you sure fifty bucks and a favor is all you want? Because I mean that's a lot to offer..."

Manny shrugged. "Well no, but today I feel very giving. Both of you seem like really nice guys and I want to help. Plus O'Dallas and Annisa are my best friends and I want to see them in a healthy, happy relationship for once. And so they can quit nagging me about being single, but still."

"Then yes. You have got yourself a deal!" Rashaad said and grabbed Manny's right hand to shake, maybe a bit too eagerly, while Hakeem mimicked his move and shook his left hand.

Manny grinned at both of them and released his hands from their grips, straightening his fingerless gloves before saying, "And you don't have to worry about the money right away, but you know what they say. The sooner, the better."

"Oh completely. We'll even have it by tomorrow," Rashaad said, which made Hakeem shoot him a cautious glare. "But, um, well, since we are all here, when would you want to start?"

"Consider this day a twenty-four hour free trial. If you guys are able to, I don't know, sneak us out of here before second period, we can start right away," Manny said, his grin becoming wider.

"Oh, pfft, too easy," Hakeem responded and sat up a bit straighter in his chair, "Rashaad and I made an extra emergency back up plan just for this."

Rashaad frowned. "Uh, we did?"

"You did?" Manny asked and titled his head.

"Of course we did, remember? It's this one where Rashaad gets hurt so he's forced to go to the nurse's room for help," Hakeem said.

"But I'm not hurt..."

"Not yet," Hakeem responded and proceeded to enact the extra emergency back up plan by doing something that clearly hadn't been planned.

Punching Rashaad in the arm.

Whew, another chapter done. Personally this has been on of my favorites to write and I'm proud of how well it actually turned out. What do you think?

I'm also not one to gush over numbers a lot, but I cannot believe "Nice Guys" is at 1k reads! Thank you to all my readers, 'cause none of this would've been possible without you. So please keep voting, commenting, and sharing. Here's to a thousand more!

~ Robin ~